http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/R ... story.html
Some excerpts from the article by Mike Beamish, Vancouver Sun
Geroy Simon has 851 receptions in his 13-year CFL career, exactly 851 more than Shawn Gore, Akeem Foster, Nick Moore and Dobson Collins have combined.
Yet, that five-receiver package is one the B.C. Lions will be throwing at the Montreal Alouettes tonight in what promises to be a historic night for the CFL regular-season opener at Molson Stadium. It's historic in the sense that either Gore, Foster, Moore or Collins will establish himself as a bona fide CFL player by making a catch. If it works out well, perhaps all four will establish themselves as the future of B.C. football.
Geroy has 851 catches. The four new receivers have 0. I think too much can be made of this stat. I expect the new guys to do well.
"You could say it's weird that four of us have never caught a pass," said Gore, a secondyear Lion who spent the 2010 pre-season with the Green Bay Packers. "But we've practised a lot together, we've caught lots of balls in practice and in preseason games. Yeah, it hasn't happened in an official game, with the cameras and lights on. But practices and pre-season games are football, too. We don't feel there's any extra pressure, just because it's a game that counts."
Paris Jackson, going into his ninth season, with 393 career catches to his credit, will back up Gore at slotback, partly because Jackson didn't participate in any training camp drills, scrimmages or pre-season games because of a wonky knee. It's also because Gore, the 10th overall pick in the 2010 CFL draft, might be the team's most improved player from a year ago.
Don't ask head coach Wally Buono if it's true. He says the people you should be asking are the players who have to defend Gore in practice.
"Shawn, in particular, is just so explosive. He's such a big-play threat," said Lions veteran cornerback Davis Sanchez. "Sometimes you have to give young guys a chance. I'm sure it will be a learning curve for those guys. But they've got to get a chance sometime. I've been very impressed with Shawn. Of all those young guys, I expect him to be the biggest surprise, because he's virtually unknown."
Gore is very explosive.
"If Wally has the confidence in us to make plays, he's going to put us in there," Moore said. "Obviously, this is the first game for all of us, except Geroy. So it's a tremendous opportunity to let Wally know we are capable of getting it done."
Moore said their advantage is having Simon around to watch, listen to and be inspired by.
"He's a tremendous leader, off and on the field," Moore said. "He's always giving us tips, when we're on the field. He's also at the centre of the little chats we have on the sidelines, what's going on with the defence, and he's here to help us with that."
Geroy is demonstrating outstanding leadership. No surprise there.
Foster, at 6-4, 215, is a large, inviting target, nine years younger than the man he replaced, and another young player with a huge upside, if he can match the expectations.
"In the off-season, during practice, you catch 100 balls a day," Foster said. "It's just like riding a bike. A game is a little different than practice, but it's still football. I've caught a lot of passes over the years. When I catch my first pass in a real CFL game, it'll be just one more."
"We're going to do everything the coaches have taught us and rely on our talent," Foster said. "The only thing we're missing is experience. And that will come."
Go, Kiddie Corps.
.. replaced by Reddick at wide side halfback... sigh
